Mathews falls to E. Canton in Div. IV

May 27, 2010 at 12:09a.m.

By Jim flick

KENT

Despite holding East Canton without an earned run, the Mathews softball squad lost 1-0 on Wednesday in a Division IV regional semifinal at Kent State University.

Mathews (18-13) collected only one hit in the season-ending loss. East Canton (26-2) advanced to the championship game on Saturday.

“We played a good game,” said Mathews coach Gene Cheredar. “Our pitching was good, our defense was good.”

What East Canton had that Mathews didn’t was the dominant pitching of Letitia Bittinger. A junior, Bittinger struck out 14 while giving up only one hit. She issued only one walk, and only one other Mustang reached base on an error. Bittinger also drove in the game’s only run.

Stephanie Durig collected Mathews’ only hit, a two-out double in the sixth.

Bittinger (25-1) has more than 300 strikeouts this season and over 700 in her high school career. Mathews’ players were aware of Bittinger’s impressive accomplishments before the game.

Preparing to face a pitcher of Bittinger’s caliber “is a little different,” Cheredar said. He explained that in practice preparing for the game, he set the team’s pitching machine at high speed. But he admitted that preparing to face a pitcher like Bittinger is difficult, if not impossible.

“We did the best we could,” said Mathews pitcher Brittany Schnarrs (11-8), who also pitched a fine game. She allowed just four hits while striking out four.

East Canton scored its run in the first inning. Lead-off hitter Heidi Vacca reached base on an error and advanced to second on a passed ball. Then Bittinger smashed a RBI single to left field to drive in the run.

Bittinger’s pitching was dominant from the start. She struck out eight of the first 10 batters she faced, and later recorded four strikeouts in a single inning. Schnarrs reached base on a passed ball in the fifth.

Schnarrs, a junior, said she’s already looking forward to next season. Only one player who started Wednesday for Mathews — Durig — is a senior. Mathews’ varsity roster includes five freshmen.

“I think we’ll have a good team next year,” Schnarrs said.

Cheredar agreed, adding, “There’s a lot of good young talent out there.”